Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1887-07-02
rAe MUDDY MISSISSIPPI
Some Eomances of the Departed
strnmb boat Era.

In scercrs IF interest:
The curious prauks o. the great river have
always been viewed with suspicion anu alarm
by the government engineers and municipal
authorities. When St Louis was a small
town the river made bold and almost sue
cessful attempt 10 cut q new channel three.
miles east If It's present course. The effect NJ
this would have been N Leave 'ae city "high
and dry" and /; IS 20 the active Intelligence
and engineering skill Of Lieut. K Z. Lee that
the city owes it. present hsroOr.
The Mississippi forms se'aicircie about
g. Louis, and the territory thus iuciOsed has
a water frontage Of fourteen miles The
levee extends from CarondeIet on the south
to the Tater-wOrks on the north, along The
entire water front Of The city. Only zbcut
I've miles of q Is improved, and this portion
Is directly in front Of the business part NJ the
city. The site of II. Louis war az gioN.iY
succession Of natural terraces, reaching back
tgO miles from the river. Then the ground
slOped downward and vas cui ~ AT deep
raVnes ami covered by numerous ponds. The
river front in the vicinity OF the present
bridge vas originally high bluff and the
carly inhabitants had nothing 20 fear from
high water. This bluff had been cut down
for miles, and its Usse transformed Into
leyee. The street dlrectiv facisg the water
was called trout street, but now since this
glory has departed, {; IS known IS the Leyee.
The improved portion OF the 81 Louis ieYee
is al inclined plane, paved with stone, eI-
tending from the street level % the water.
The distance from the apex To the water de-
pends On the mood of the river. Tne plane
is paved fully three hundred feet, and the
water IS in very io~ stage when the Oed be-
low the paving IS exposed AS stated, this
inclined plane extends FOR aeariy I've niles in
front OF the business pOrilcn, sud ,he improve
ments COS. S3,0jO,OJ0.
1t is uG this levec that the remnant oil the
great Ttve- business that ,uAJe the city Is
now TRANSACTED River traffic Gss dwintled
70 about 10 per cent of It's ante-bellum volume.
The gold and glory IN .;eamboIting have
vanished. SRd now old river men spend most
of their time describing the AuEustaR age
OF the Steamboat on Western waters, the
period from Is45 70 1860.
The irSS steamboat that arrived in st. Louis
was the Zebulen N. Pike, in 1917. In lsAS the
river trnde had grown - such hn.e crOD5r-
tons that 5, as boats arrived IN the bsTbOr.
In 1853 more steamboats, arrived In st. Louis
than il New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Pitts
burgh combiued. The Missouri river trade
was an item OF vast importance, and there were
hsif duzen velleouipped lines on that river.
To-day there is one liac. Railroads killed the
river business and by building up the western
cities almost throttlei the trade Ot st. Louis
The Missouri bank Of the Mississippi almost
the entire length Of the state, is one chain o.
| bluffs. The Illinois side. from Alton - Cairo
10 DAT Gnd low, aud between these two town,
lies the famous American bottom. The bot
toms vary from three 70 six miles in width
from the low bank Of the river 70 the eastern
bluffs, and are two hundred miles long, con
tanning sixteen million acres OF the most fertil,
soil in the world The river especially IN IL,
vicinity OF 81. Louis. Is inclined TO sweep oyel
these acres, AID To protect them great dySe
| and leyees have been constructed on tn,
eastern bank. Directly in front of this citl
vas once 8 famous island called ''Bloo!r
island" on account Of the many fatal duel
fought there. 1t Wa there Senator ThoIna
| b. Benton killed Charles D. Lucas and e1
Gov. Thomas Reynolds, who recently commit
| ted suicide, shot h. Grats Brown. This ,,!aut
was In the center OF the river and a. the cur
rent flowed toward the Illinois side :he peopl.
1 OF the city arose one morning in 1885, aDC
found sand bar extending from the Nilsson
| r side 10 the island, snd almost The Who'll,
volume Of water flowing between BLOOD
island" and Illinois. The government was A.
\ pealed to and Lieut. Robert Z. Lee vas sen
out here in charge Of the work. He construct
Ell dikes on the Illinois shore and at IL,
head of Bloody island, - and gradually iurnec
| the water back toward the st. Louis side unit
1 the sand bar was washed away, and aftervart
the entire river was thrown over against th,
city. Bloody island' is now . portion Of Ia,
main land, and the greatest part Of East st
Louis Is located on Il. Balke1 az this point
the river cut into Illinois below this city. Il
| ldJS Eort Chartres was one mile aud 4 quarte
| directly east from the river bank To-day II,
| river runs over the spot where the old for
stood
| The largest dixie in this vicinity is thi
Madison county, Illinois, dixie which extend
| from point opposite the mouth OF the Mis-
souri, TO East ~. Louis. This varies from
twenty To thirty feet in height and about n,
same in width. Il protects the lands from
an ordinary rise In the river, out there &
nothing that can protect them from an II
trsordinsry rise. The Madison county dix
broke In 1852, and IN one night an aYalanch,
| OF water zen feet in height swept over IN
| American bottom for one hundred miles, Ties
troying stock. crops. and human life. tn,
earliest authentic account OF a food Is fouuS
| in an old document in K2skaskis, the Oldes
settlement in the state. aud, situated in ID,
bottoms" This food occurred in l7a!4 ant
the water extended 70 the bluffs Ia i1s5
terrible food occurred. and the mighty strean
spread over a wilderness six miles wide an,
tensnted only by wild beasts and few Indian
and settlers. The year was known 20 th,
| French Inhabitants as "faunee des grande
eauL
In 1884 The river rose forty feet above iov
water mark and inundated the entir,
American bottom. Houses, fences, and crop
were all swept away. Levees we're destroyeS
and warehouses on the bank collapsed
The peculiar action Of The riyer was illuslra
TED about twenty years ago ia a rcmarisbl
manner. Opposite the southern portion of III
CITY was a spot OF drv land in the strsau
called Arsenal island. Il va. . beautiful
spot, and.a syndicate purchased it from IN
CITY at 4 ronrd price. intending 20 make
summer resort Of L. This was in 1862. In ID
next three years the river had carried ava
30 feet OF the northern end. In 1870 the islam
had been moved four blocks down the rive
sid half Of Il had disappeared To-day ther
Is uot a Testage Of II 10 be seen. and the syndi